Unexpected Plan
by jmloftin03
Summary: Everyone knows what happend to Katniss during the Hunger Games, but what about Peeta? This is his story.
1. Chapter 1

I woke up to the light shining through my window. I guess I forgot to close the curtains last night. "Oh well lets just get this day over with," I say to myself. The smell of bread is all over the house today. Father must have woken up very early to start making all the bread. Everyone is going to want to celebrate that their child hasn't been chosen for the reaping. The day that all of Paneam will remember that the tweleve districts would be nothing without the capital.

Years ago, the world started to go bad. The oceans where drying up, it rarely rained, and it was getting hotter and hotter. Finaly the people in the world got together to work through this problem and became Paneam, thirteen districts surrounding the capital. Everything was going great, until the districts rebeled against the capital. There was a huge war, and needless to say, the rebels lost. There are now only twelve districts left, the thirteenth was decimated in the war. That district was set as an example for a reminder of what would happen if anyone should try to rebel again. That wasn't the only thing that had come from the war. As a perminent reminder of what happens to rebels, the capital made up the Hunger Games.

The Hunger Games are pretty simple. Take two kids, a boy and a girl, from each district, throw them in an areana and make them kill eachother. The last one standing gets a life of ease and never has to go hungry ever again or worry about money. Today is the day that they draw the names for the two unlucky kids that will be thrown into the areana. The last time district tweleve had a winner was about 50 years ago and the guy that won is a complete drunk.

His name is Haymich. Everyone sees him at the local bar, throwing money at the waitress and waiting to down another cup of the clear liquid that will take him away from this place, well as far away as he can get anyway.

I sit up and look out my window. It wouldn't be a bad vew if it wasn't for the electric fence that wraps all the way around district twelve. I can see the mountains and all the trees. Sometimes I imagine that I am out in the woods, away from the hell of my district. But the truth is that I am terrified of the woods. There are supposed to be some pretty dangerous animals out there. I've seen th people who are brave enough to got out and hunt come back with wild dogs, deer, and wild cats. But hunting is a federal offense, the people who do it are supposed to be publicly exicuted if they are caught. Lucky for them the peace keepers turn a blind eye to it, because they are just as hungry as the rest of us. Anywhere else and those hunters would die.

We aren't allowed to leave our district unless its to take coal to the trainstation. There is a fence that wraps all the way around district twelve. Its supposed to be electrified twenty-four hours a day, but most of the time it isn't. We're lucky if we get an hour of electricity around here. Most of the light that is used at night is just candle or fire.

I go to the bathroom and take a shower. I have to look my best for the reaping. Its supposed to be an honor to be chosen to represent the district, so we have to dress up. I'm a bit worried that my name will be drawn this year, my name is going in five times this year. Every child in the capital has their name submitted for the reaping the day the turn tweleve. Each year they add another slip. So when I was twelve my name was entered once, thrirteen twice, and so on.

As I'm brushing my hair I hear my mother scream up the stairs for me to hurry up because everyone is about to leave to go into the town square. I quickly take a look at myself in the mirror and decide that I'm presentable before I run down the stairs to meet my family in the hall. My brother is standing there, look his best also. He's a year younger than I am, but I doubt that his name will be drawn. Kyle has all the luck in the family. He'll probably take over the shop when my parents are gone.

We walk out of the house and down the street. I glance over my shoulder once just to take a look at my home, just in case my name is drawn and I'll never see home again.

I'm hearded into the group of sixteen year olds in the center of the square to wait while the mayor and Effie Trinket rattle on about how much of an honor it is for the two chosen children to compete and the Mayor rattles on about the treaty and how the Hunger Games came to be. Its really all a waist of time. I'm pretty sure that he wouldn't do it if it wasn't required and if the capital wasn't filming everything that is going on. The only really interesting part is when Haymich finally makes his appearance. When everyone applauds for him, he looks confused and huges Effie. It actually looks like he's trying to molest her on the stage. He must be drunk still, what a shock. In an effort to get everyone back on track Effie says that she will now withdrawl the Girl tributes name.

It does the trick. Everyone goes silent as Effie walks over to take a sheet from the bucket. She digs deep and finally pulls out a slip. All I can think is that I hope it isn't her. The girl I've silently watched for years, the I've secretly loved since we where kids. I look around for just a glimps of her, but then I hear the name called out and I turn my head sharply back at Effie, its not the girl that I love, its her sister, Primrose Everdeen. I know what's going to happen next.

I hear her call out to Prim. Everyone moves out of her way to let her pass. I watch her head move throught the crowd, see her brown hair braided back. Its not in the usual style she wears it in, but she still looks beautiful. She pushes Prim behind her and screams out despritaly, "I volunteer. I volunteer as tribute." Her sister screams at her and asks her not to do it, but its too late. I watch Gale, a boy from my school, pull Prim off of her sister. There's a bit of confusion on the stage about how a volunteer should come forward, but the mayor only says, " What does it matter," and pull her on stage and asks her what her name is.

"Is Katniss. Katniss Everdeen," she says. Her voice is strong, even though I can tell she wants to cry. She's not the only only one. My insides are churning as I think of watching Katniss kill or be killed in the games. She look beautiful wearing a blue dress with her head held high. Katniss is a small girl, but I know she can handle herself. She is one of the brave people who actually go out into the woods to hunt. I know that Gale, the boy her took her sister away from the stage, is her hunting partner. I still don't know if they are a thing. They look like they could be related, but I'm not sure.

I'm too busy staring at Katniss to notice what's going on on the stage. All I know is that I hear a man talking and then I suddenly see Haymitch take a head dive into the crowd. Now district twelve is the laughing stock of the country, as if we need any help in that department. Part of me feels bad for Haymitch, but the other half of my can't help but turn its nose up at the man.

Effie is walking back to the buckets to pull out the boy's name. I'm hoping and praying that its not me, its not me, its not me, but its no good.

"Peeta Mellark," its me. Shit, its me. I stiffly walk through the crowd to the stage to take my place next to Katniss. I'm going to have to fight to live in an areana with a girl that I'm in love with and she doesn't know it. Not only that, but if I want to make it home I'm going to have to hope someone else kills her, or I'm going to have to kill her myself.

I turn to look at her and see she has put on her strong face. If I didn't know better I would think that she was bored, but I can actually see that she is holding back her pain. Its hard to see it, but its there, hidden behind her eyes. We're forced to shake hands and face the crowd.

Well this is going to be a first for the Hunger Games. They've never had a tribute in love with another tribute. The capital is going to eat this up. Suddenly, I have an idea on how I can save my life and Katniss's life.

Let the 72nd hunger games begin.


	2. Chapter 2

I was ten years old and working in the bakery. My mother was freaking out over an order that she wanted to get out to the peacekeepers. She kept snapping at everyone for the tiniest thing. I was just thinking to myself that she needed to go out for a drink when I saw Katniss outside the window.

It was pouring outside. The rain had been falling all day and hadn't stopped. She was looking in our trash can for scraps of food with a look of pure hunger and pain all over her face. Katniss looked so lost and broken. I didn't know what to do. Here was the girl that I dreamed about ever since we started school and she looked like she was about to die right in my back yard. I was just thinking to myself, "What can I do to help her," when my mother noticed Katniss in the yard.

Mother screamed at her, telling her to get away from our trash bins and that she was tired of "those kids from the seam" always coming around and trying to take her things. The look on Katniss's face was heartbreaking. She was just about to give up on life. Like so many of the other people around here in district twelve. There was always atleast one person a day who died from hunger. The Peacekeepers would always rule the deaths on phneumonia or the flu, but we always know that its hunger.

I looked up and saw the bread in the oven and suddenly had an idea. I would pay dearly for it because my mother was in such a bad mood, but it would keep Katniss and possibly her family going. I walked over to the over and grabbed the oven mits to get th pan out of the oven. I acted quickly, at the last second before I pulled out the pan, I acted like I lost my grip and sent the bread into the burning fire, just as quickly as I had let the bread fall I had scooped them up and out of the fire. They weren't ruined, just a little burnt at the edges.

I looked up in time to see that my mother was looking at me, and she had the look on her face. The look that said, "You're about to get a beating." She started yelling at me for dropping the bread, telling me that I was such a clumsy oaf and that I better straighten up fast or I was going no where in life. I didn't even see her had coming at me until it was too late. I have no idea what she had in her hand, but it hurt. I stood there for a second holding my face before she told me to give the burnt bread to the pigs in the back.

Mother followed me as far as the back door and just stood there. "Feed it to th pig, you stupid creature! Why not? No one decent will buy burned bread!

I tore off a couple of chunks that were burned and threw it to the pig, keeping my eyes on my mother. She turned her back for just a second but it was enough time for me to chunk the two loaves of bread at Katniss, who was sitting by a tree, and walk back to the house like nothing had happened.

Later on that night my eye swoll to twice its normal size. My father had me put an ice pack on it, but it didn't do much good. When I had finally looked in a mirror my eye was black and blue with the little red spots that show up when a blood vesel had been broken. I didn't get much sleep that night because every time I closed my eyes I saw Katniss with her hallow eyes and cheeks. The look of complete hoplessness was permenantly burned into my mind.

I saw her at school the next day. We locked eyes a couple of times, but she always looked away first. I didn't want her to. I loved to look at her eyes. I couldn't really tell if they where green or hazel but they where beautiful, just like her. Ever since that day I saw the life come back into her. She slowly put back on weight; I had seen her little sister a couple of times and she seemed to be getting better too.

That was when I started to think that Katniss had taken up what her father used to do and go hunting in the woods. I prayed every day that she would be safe in the wood and that some day she would have help with her situation.

Now I can't help but think it would have been better to have just let her starve to death, because now I may have to fight her to the death. I don't think I could kill her, even if I wanted to, and I deffinately wouldn't be able to now. She is a hunter and all I am is a bread boy.

The ceremony ends and Katniss and I are taken to the safe house. There are lots of Peacekeepers around to make sure that we don't try to run off. I'm ushered into a room with plush carpets and black leather furniture. I have to admit that the capital does have style. I grew up in the best part of district twelve but nothing we had was ever this nice. Hell, most of the food we ate was stale.

I sat on the couch and waited for my family to come in to say their good-byes. My mother and father where the first one's to come in. My father gave me a one armed hug and a small smile, he's not one for long good-byes.

My mother on the other hand didn't seem to be sad. "Maybe we'll finally have a winner this year. She's a fight that one. You remember when I found her almost dead in our back yard. I wonder what made her push through it, or where she's found food these past couple of years. Anways, you try your hardest to get back home. It will be hell to replace you back at the bakery. No on else knows how to frost the cakes like you do," she said.

I'm so mad that tears start to spring up out of my eyes. My hands are balled up into fists and shaking. Trust me, it doesn't go unnoticed. My bitch of a mother spots it and zero's in on me.

"Good, get mad, that's the only way your going to stay alive. All you know how to do is work in the bakery. You can lift a lot of heavy things, but you have no will power to live. Get mad, fight back, kill of them one by one, even that Everdeen girl if you have to . Just make it back home," she says and then she reaches out and gives me a hug. Its so random that I actually hug her back. I didn't know how much I craved for her to hug me until now. She rarely ever showed me any kind of affection.

Once thier gone, I don't expect anyone else to come in. I sit around waiting for the peacekeepers to come and get me, but when the door opens again, its not the peacekeepers, its Gale, Katniss's friend. He looks like he's at the end of his rope. I can see marks on his arms and his hair is a mess.  
I don't know what to do, so I just sit there and wait for him to talk to me. It takes a second because he is out of breath, but finally he says, "You do whatever you must to make sure that she lives, I don't care if you die, if you cheat the system, or if you some how manage to win with her. Promise me that you will do all you can to make sure that she comes home. Her family needs her, I need her," Gale is practially yelling at me. He is paceing the room so fast that I think he's going to start a fire with his feet.

"I'll do what I can. I have a plan, but I'm not going to share it with you. All you need to know is that by the end of the games Katniss will be alive and on her way home," I say as I stand up and look him right in the eyes. Gale stares at me for a second then nods his head and leaves the room.

Gale and I have never really been friends. I've seen him in the hall, most of the time he is around Katniss, and talked to him a couple of times in school. I've never really cared for him, but I also don't have a problem with him. I guess that you could say I don't like him because so many girls are attracted to him. I wouldn't mind so much if it wheren't for the fact that I think Katniss is one of those girls. I see the looks she gives the girls at school when they watch him walk through the halls. If looks could kill those girls would have died staring at Gale.

I sit around some more and about twenty minutes later the Peacekeepers come for me. They walk me to the old rickety train station that the coal miners use to take the coal to the capitol. Katniss is at the other end of the stage staring at the cameras and the audience as if she is bored. To me she kind of looks like a zombie, like the ones in the old movies from before the wars.

Looking out into the crowd I can see Gale and her family watching her. Prim is crying into her mother's shoulder, while her mother just stares straight ahead with the same look that her oldest daughter is wearing at the exact same moment. Gale still looks like he is at the end of his rope, hair sticking all over the place now, and it looks like he's trying really hard not to cry. That's strange, I didn't think that a guy like him could cry.

Someone grabs my arms and pulls me onto the train, Its Haymitch. This train isn't one of those old rusted one's that the seam gets to use for coal, but one of the huge nice industrial ones from the capitol. The floors are capeted and look as if they wher as fluffy as cats fur. Everything in here is huge and stylish, something my mother would love.

I'm lead to my room and told to wash up because dinner will be served in a couple of hours and then Haymitch tells me that he is going to take a nap. Looking around, I see that this is one of the nicest places I've ever been. The bathroom is about as big as my room, with a shower that has load of knobs that shoot out different kinds of foams and smelly stuff. My room is decorated in blue. The comforter and lamps and all that other good stuff match. I could care less. I just want to finish the games alive with Katniss.  
With the few hours that I have to myself I start to think about my plan. Haymitch is going to want to know our strengths and there is no point in trying to act like I don't know what Katniss can do. He'll want to make plans on how we can work things out, like if we want to be trained together or seperatly. If he gave us that choice I woulld choose to work together, up until the interview. Then I want to be coached by myself to tell Haymitch my secret and hopefully put a spin on the games.

I'm so lost in my thoughts that I almost miss the knock at my door from Effie telling me that dinner is done. I lumber out of my room and down to the dining hall to find that I am the first one there. A guy standing in the corner of the room dressed in black pants and a white button down shirt rushes over to pull out my chair for me. I give a nod of thanks and take my seat while he serves me.

My mother has told me about these people. They are called Avoxes, traitors to the capitol. Thier tongues are cut out and they are forced to serve everyone the capitol tells them to or they die. Not a nice way to live, but I guess that's what you get for being a traitor. I can't help but think that if my plan goes wrong that could be me in a couple of weeks.\

The food the Avox sets infront of me smells delicious, but I'm not really in the mood to eat much, so I focus my attention on a cup with some smoking dark brown liquid in it. When I take the first sip, I almost burn my tongue off. From what I tasted before I scolded myself it was really sweat. This must be hot chocolate. My mother has told me about this stuff. She'd always wanted to get some for the shop but we could never have afforded it. My family may live better than most people in the seam, but we weren't rich, and we couldn't pull off a miracle like getting hot chocolate, besides, no one is the district could afford it.

As I'm ripping a roll apart and dipping it the the chocolate, hoping it will cool it down some, Katniss and Effie walk in. Katniss has changed. She's wearing a plane green shirt, with a bird pin on it, and regular blue jeans. Her hair is still braided back in the same way that it was at the reaping. When she looks at me, its not with contempt or timidness, but more sorrow. She glances down at my hands with the roll in it and looks away.

"Where's Haymitch?" asks Effie Trinkt brightly

"Last time I saws him, h said he was going to take a nap," I said. "Well, its been an exhaustin day," Says Effie. I bet she's just happy that he's not in the same room as her again. She's still mad about what happened at the reaping.

Dinner comes in courses. Carrot soup, gren salad, lamb chops and mashed potatoes, cheese and fruit, and chocolate cake. I skip on the latter because I'm so stuffed.  
"At least, you two have dcent manners," says Effie as we're finishing the main course. "Th pair last year ate everything with thir hands like a couple of savages. It completely upsetmy digestion."

I can see that this comment pisses off Katniss and I also notice that she eats the rest of her meal with her hands. I have to fight not to laugh because now Effie is pursing her lips and she's starting to remind me of a huge puffer fish because she's starting to hold her breath and blow up.

When I look over at Katniss, she look a little green but determind to hold her meal. Is she a fighter or what?

When we are finished eating we got to the sitting compartment and watch a recap of all the districts "winners". I mostly just ignore the program, but some of the kids stick out. There is a very pretty girl from district one called on stage. She's all curves and has long blond hair. If I weren't already in love with another girl, She may have stolen my heart right there. There is a mean looking boy who voluteers from district two, on his way to the stage he almost knocks down to girls. The one person who sticks out the most to me is a little girl from district eleven. She's only twelve, short has dark hair and big dark eyes. She reminds me of Prim and I know almost imediatly that Katniss thinks the same thing because when I take a side glace at her she is shaking her head and has a look of pure disgust on her face.

They finally show our district. I hear Prim's name called out and then Katniss yelling that she volunteers. You can hear the desperation in her voice, there is no chance of hiding it. I watch as Gale pulls Prim off of Katniss, but I also see Gale say something to Katniss, I wish I knew what he said. Then I'm called on stage and we shake hands. All and all a very boring show. Effie is complaining about Haymitch's manners and the fact that now everyone knows she wears a wig.

"Your mentor has a lot to learn about presentation. A lot about televised bhavior." I can't help but laugh. How can she think that Haymitch would really care about how he presents himself. Katniss looks at me when I laugh and I see Effie pulling on her mean face.

"He was drunk. He's drunk every year," I say with a small laugh.

"Every Day," Katniss adds with a small smirk. That smirk sends my hear pounding, but I try and act like its all a big joke. Haymitch being drunk isn't an odd thing back home. Everyone has seen him in the bars, throwing money at the bar tenders.

"Yes," hisses Effie, "How odd you two find it amusing. You know your mentor is your lifeline to the world in these Games. The one who advises you, lines up yours sponsors, and dictates the presentation of any gifts. Haymitch can well be the difference between your life and your death!"

As if on cue, in stumbles Haymitch. "I miss supper?" He slurrs, then vomits all over the carpet and falls into it. The smell takes me over instantly.

"So laugh away!" says Effie. I watch as she finds a path through the vomit on he pointy heels and goes to her room.

A/N Sorry I haven't updated. I've had a busy couple of weeks. I had to go to a funeral and my son got sick so I had to take him to the hospital. There was also graduation. Please comment, doesn't matter if its good or bad. I could always use constructive critisism. And i know my spelling isn't th greatest 


	3. Chapter 3

Katniss and I took in the scene of Haymitch trying to get out of his own vomit. I must say, the smell was horrible and it was even worse to look at out mentor with it stuck all over him. I'm tempted to cover my nose because I'm afraid my own dinner may make a reappearance, but then I see Katniss look at me and I know that I can't. We both look back at Haymitch. I can't believe the only person who can help us is a drunk, but he's the only thing we have that can keep us alive, so here goes nothing. At the same time Katniss and I both grap and arm and haul Haymitch up.

"I tripped?" Haymitch asks. "Smells bad." He wipes his hand on his nose, smearing his face with vomit. Ugh. I can't take it, I got to clean him up.

"Lets get you back to your room," I say. "Clean you up a bit."

We half-carry half-drag Haymitch back to his room. I don't want to set him down on his bed and get vomit all over the place so we lead him into the bath tub and turn the shower on him. I have to fight from laughing because he doesn't seem to notice the warm water coming down on him. I get a look at Katniss and she seems a bit uncomfortable with the chance of having to get a look at her mentor naked, so I take pitty on her.

"It's okay," I say to her. "I'll take it from here."

The relief is all over her face as I say those words. She glances back into the hallway of the train and turns back to me. "All right, I can send one of the Capitol people in to help you," she says.

"No, I don't want them," I say. They are the people who put us in the hell whole. Why would I want their help. Katniss looks a little confused when I tell her this and then a second later a completely different expression falls over her face. I can't exactly say what it is though. She looks like she's kind of in pain and that she regrets something.

I turn back to Haymitch and start to take his shirt off. He's mumbling something and I turn to take his socks off.

"What was that," I ask. He lifts his head to look at me and gives me a mock smile

"You wear your emotions on your sleave. Too bad you two are gonna die. You'll never get to tell her you love her," he says and then lifts his head up to the water and lets it wash off the vomit that he wiped there.

I can't say that I'm mad at his comment. I just don't know what to say to that. There is a little bit of a plan forming in my head about how to keep both Katniss and me alive, but I don't know how to go about doing it. I may actually need Haymitch's help with this.

"What if we can minipulate the system. The Capitol and their fans love a good drama. Can we spin this to make it seem like she loves me too and try to make it so two victors come out of the games," I ask. I don't know why I even bother. He won't remember this conversation in the morning.

He looks at me with a startled expression and shakes his head. "No one can ever beat the system," he says.

I have finally gotten all of his clothes off and I'm attempting to rinse all of the vomit off of him. I don't know what else to talk about, so I just help my drunk mentor bathe and get dressed. I help him into bed and let myself out of Haymitch's room.

On the walk back to my compartment I notice that I'm covered in vomit as well so I walk into the bathroom to give myself a good scrub down. Hot water always makes me feel better about a bad day.

I strip all the way down and jump into the shower only to find that there are so many buttons in it that I don't know how to turn the stupid thig on. I stand there for a minute or two wondering how to go about this when I finally see the knobs marked hot and cold.

Finally I turn on the shower and get the water to the tempuature that I like it. I look around the shower for shampoo and soap and again I can't find the damn things. This is completely rediculous. I look back at the buttons and find a bunch of stuff scribbled down about what each one does. I find the one that says wash and just let it go about cleaning me.

When I step out of the shower I grab a town and walk into the main part of my compartment. I must say that it is rather nice in here.

My floor is a soft blue, so are the covers on the bed. They have dark funiture all around the room. There is a vanity over along the left side. I get a good look at myself in the mirror. My blond hair is dripping water in my face and its almost in my eyes. the towl wrapped around my waist gives a full view of my muscles. I earned those durning the years of lifting up all the flour packs and carrying them for my parents and working on the wrestling team at school.

Shaking my head to try and get some water out of my hair, I go about trying to find some clothes to wear to bed. I settle with some boxers and just a pair of pajama pants. What's the point in trying to look good, its not like she's going to come running in here and jumping in bed with me because she's afraid of the dark.

I turn off all the lights and crawl into bed. The covers feel nice against my bare chest. After a couple of minutes the trails rocking puts me to sleep. My dreams aren't very peaceful. I'm walking in a forest with a knife in my hand and there are people with me. I have no clue who they are, besides I can't really get a good look at their faces. Its more like I'm walking with a faceless group. We're hunting for something and they are getting restless. I keep asking what are we doing, but none of them answer me. Finally they stop and point up in a tree.

"We found her! She's up there!," they scream. I look up into the tree they point at and find Katniss up there. He face is a mask. I can't read what she is thinking.

"Peeta, you kill her. She's yours," one of the dream people say. I look back up into the tree to look at the girl that I love. I can't do it. I can't kill her. Constantly I repeat that I can't. I can't do it.

One of the dream people walks up to me and starts to sceam that if I don't kill her then he'll kill me and then he'll track her down and kill her himself.

"No, you won't do anything to her. I won't let you," I say. My anger has gotten the better of me. I swing out with the sward and stap whoever it is that has threatend me.

I wake up in a dead sweat. It was like I could feel the blood of the boy on my hands already. I'm panting really hard right now, I have to get control of myself. That would never happen. I wouldn't join up with anyone and go hunting for anyone, let alone Katniss. If I did join up with people to go hunting it would be to make sure that they can't get to her. I would make sure she stays alive until the very end, or atleast until they killed me.

The sun is already up. I can see it through the windows. Even if it wasn't already day, I wouldn't have been able to get back to sleep anyways. The nightmare has be up and about in about five minutes.

When I leave the compartment I'm dressed in blue jeans and a white t-shirt that is a little tight around the arms. I walk into the dinningroom to find Haymitch and Effie already there. Effie looks relieved to see me, someone who isn't drunk or atleast on his way there.

When I sit down the Avox puts a tray down infront of me. I start to eat the bacon first. After I take my first bite I look up to see Haymitch looking at me with a smug look on his face.

"Have fun last night, I must say, I haven't been given a bath like that since I was eight," he chuckles. Great, so he doesn't remember. Hopefully he forgot the part about me trying to save Katniss.

"Well, you needed a shower. Unless you wanted to fall asleep in your own vomit and wake up in it," I say as I take another bite of my bacon.

"And where is our lovely girl tripute," Haymitch asks. He raises his eyebrows as he says this. I take it that he does remember what we talked about last night. I shrug my shoulders and go about eating the rest of my food.

"I'll go get her," Effie says. She almost runs out of the room. She'll take any chance she can to get away from Haymitch and I can't say I blame her.

"You know, I don't think our dear Ms. Effie likes me very much," Haymitch says. Again I just shrug my shoulders and try to ignore my drunken mentor. He his still drunk, big surprise, and his face is red and puffy from last night as well.

Effie comes back into the room and is still walking around the room trying to find something. I hear her clincking some things together and then something is pourn.

"So, Peeta is it," Haymitch asks. I look up and nod my head. "When do you plan on nailing our girl tribute or do you intend to die a virgin," he asks. I'm so shocked that I stop bringing the roll to my mouth that I was just about to take a bite out of. Effie turns around so fast that she almost lets her cup of coffee fly across the room.

"Why on earth would you say something like that," she demands of him. He just starts to chuckle. Effie is walking to her own chair mummbling rude things about Haymitch on the way, when Katniss walks in. I can't help it, I must blush beat red and I quickly look down at my roll to avoid looking at her.

"Sit down! Sit down!," says Haymitch, waving her over. As soon as she sits down she is served a huge helping of food and give her coffee, water, juice and hot chocolate. She singles out the hot chocolate and takes a sip. She looks a bit confused by it.

"Its hot chocolate, I say. "Its good."

She takes a sip and I see the shudder pass through her. The rest of the meal she pretty much just sips on her drink until its completely gone and then she starts on her food. I notice that this time she takes her time eating. Probably for the same reason that I am. This food is rich and I don't want any of it coming back up.

Meanwhile, Haymitch isn't eating at all, just putting some alcohol in his juice and throwing that back. Everyone knows that our dear mentor is an alcoholic and that he wastes all of his money on his addiction.

I've never really cared for this man infront of me, but I can actually say that I hate him right now. My life, Katniss's life is on the line and this man is just drinking his way to bloody hell and doesn't even care that we're about to die and it will be his fault. No wonder we haven't had an victors from our district. No one wants to put up with a drunk.

"So, you're supposed to give us advice," Katniss says to him.

"Here's some advice. Stay alive," he says and then bursts out laughing. I look back at Katniss at the same time she looks at me. She looks shocked. I'm completely pissed off. I can't stand this drunk mand and his alcohol. My temper is coming on and I can't hold it back.

"That's very funny," I say. I swing out and knock the stupid class of alcohol and juice out of his hand, sending it to the floor where it shatters and the foul liquid spills out. "Only not to us."

Haymitch seems to consider my words for a second and then he takes a swing and hits me in the jaw so hard that I get knocked out of my chair. He turns back to grab his drink, but Katniss drives her knife into the table between his hand and the bottle, barely missing his fingers. I tense for the hit that I think is about to come. I don't think I would be able to help myself if this drunk hit her. I can't stand people like that, but it doesn't happen. Instead he sits back and takes a good look at us.

"Well,, what's this?" Haymitch asks. "Did I actually get a pair of fighters this year?"

Now that I know this fool isn't about to try and hit Katniss I get up from the floor and scoop up a handfull of ice to put on my jaw. If I don't I know it will bruse and fighting is banned from the games.

"No," he says, stopping me. "Let the bruise show. The audience will think you've mixed it up with another tribute before you've even made it to the arena."

"That's against the rules," I say.

"Only if they catch you. That bruise will say you fought, you weren't caught, even better," says Haymitch. He then turns to Katniss. "Can you hit anything with that knife besides a table."

Katniss give his a hard look, yanks the knife out of the table, gets a good grip on it and throws it across the room. It lodges itself in the seam between two panels. I knew that she could shooot with a bow and arrows, but I didn't know she was that good with a knife. My resepect for her just grew even deeper. There is a good reason why I love this woman infront of me.

"Stand over here. Both of you," says Haymitch, nodding to the middle of the room. We obey and he circles us, proding us like an animal, checking our muscles, examining our faces. I must say that at this moment I have never felt more like a horse in my entire life. "Well, you're not entirely hopeless. semm fit. And once the stylists get hold of you, you'll be attractive enough."

Well, duh. I already knew that Katniss was beautiful and that I wasn't exactly a dog either. Its a good thing too, because some of the better looking tributes get the better sponsers.

"All right, I'll make a deal with you. You don't interfere with my drinking, and I'll stay sober enough to help you," he says. "But you have to do exactly as I say."

Well, great, I've gone from having a drunk guide who didn't want to help to a drunk guide who will manage to stay sober enough to help us live. Great, at least this is better than nothing.

"Fine," I say.

"So help us," Katniss says. "When we get to the arena, what's the best strategy at the Cornucopia for somone-"

"One thing at a time. In a few minutes, we'll be pulling in to the station. You'll be put in the hands of your stylists. You're not going to like what they do to you. But no matter what it is, don't resist," says Haymitch.

"But-" she says.

"No buts. Don't resist," he says. Haymitch takes his alcohol and leave the room. As the door swings shut the train goes dark. There are still some lights on, but I know that dark doesn't happen that fast. We're in a tunnel that runs through the mountain into the Capitol. These mountains are what kept out the rebels when the war happened. Its what saved the Capitol.

Katiss and I stand there is silence and the train rambles on and on. I don't know what to say to her. She doens't seem to mind the silence, but she does seem to mind that we are in a huge rock tunnel. I wish I could say something to comfort her, but words have abandoned me at this second.

The train is slowing down and the suddenly there is bright light all over the place. We can't help ourselves, we both rush to the windows to get a good look at the famous Capitol. I've only seen it on tv and in pictures in our school books.

Its beautiful. The tv has never completely captures all the beauty of it, but I can also feel the ugly. Almost everyone down there has changed their appearnce in some way. They've died their hair to an unnatural color or they have died their skin. Its just not right to do stuff like that.

The people begin to point at us eagarly. We are their next for of entertainment for the next month or so, so technically we are celebrities here. I take advantage of their exitment. If they can see us up here then there is no point in waisting a good opportunity to get some sponsers. I wave and smile at the people as we pass by and I only stop when we reach the train station, blocking us from their view.

When I turn around Katniss has an incredulous look on her face. I don't like her looking at me that way. "Who knows?" i say. "One of them may be rich."

I watch her as she takes this news in. She suddenly gives me a look and I feel that she doesn't trust me anymore. My heart almost breaks from the look. What did I say to make her give me such a look. I don't want to hurt her, not at all. If my plan is going to work then I need her to trust me, and suddenly I'm not so sure if it will work out the way I hope it will. 


End file.
